By a Thread
by The Dark Future
Summary: [ONESHOT] Ulrich and Yumi are in an ambulance in need of urgent medical attention. Looking back at the horror that unfolded, he wonders if his angel can be saved? Rated M for Sex and Language. UxY.


**Author's Note:** This is a oneshot I developed after reading 'Chained', 'Masochist', and other M-rated fanfics of Code Lyoko, which I don't own.

I would last like to thank all those who read this story in the past. 400+ hits and counting. Thank you!

* * *

By a Thread

The ambulance parked in the middle of the street. The front doors opened and the paramedics jumped down from the vehicle. They were greeted by the policemen who informed them about what happened when they arrived at the scene. The paramedics told them they would take it from here and the police drove off. They opened the rear doors and pulled out two gurneys and wheeled toward the injured people lying on the ground. After they lowered the gurneys to street level, the paramedics hoisted the two up before wheeling them back to the ambulance. Once they were inside, the paramedics hooked them with IVs, catheters, ECGs, and an air tube under the nose. The paramedics closed the rear doors and took their seats in the front. The engine revved and they drove to the hospital.

I awoke with my head throbbing and my muscles sore. I saw my blood dried on my clothes and from my face. When I tried to sit up, I screamed in agonizing pain from the cuts and bruises across my chest and stomach. I flopped back down and looked to my left. There I saw her, poor Yumi. She had it worse as I saw her shirt torn open and her pants lowered to her knees. I cried looking at all the bruises that scarred her face and body. Shaking my head, I couldn't believe this had happened to us. We were just teenagers, just kids. Tears welled up in my eyes as I asked myself. "How could this happen?"

* * *

Yumi and I were on a date. The third one we had since we confessed our feelings for each other about two months ago after William was taken by XANA. That was when we realized how fragile life is and so we stopped playing games, stopped giving mixed signals, and just told each other how we felt. The date began with a romantic dinner at a fabulous outdoor restaurant before heading out to a Subsonics concert. She got us the tickets online and it was great when we joined everyone in dancing to the songs. For me it was Heaven. To dance alongside her, to feel her body next to mine, it was one of the greatest sensations I've ever felt. Bringing her close to me, I smelled her hair and it was exhilarating. All those lonely nights when I thought about her in my dreams, they have come true at long last. When I looked into her eyes, she felt the same way. We blushed a deep red before closing our eyes and drawing our lips closer. It was a passionate kiss, so much passion and desire that made the wait worthwhile. We pulled away and gazed deeply at each other, I saw a goddess staring back at me. She is my goddess.

The concert soon ended and everyone emptied into the streets, but not us. We held each other and slowly danced feeling the entire stadium was for our use. She whispered sweet words into my ear and I did the same. We were forced to leave for the stadium crew needed to clean up for tomorrow's event. Leaving the stadium hand-in-hand, we laughed about old times gone by. I love watching her laugh, it made me feel happy that someone so beautiful exists in my life. As we wandered down the empty streets of the city, I felt like life was perfect.

That was until we met "them". They were three men, one was a big guy like a bouncer, the second was a sly guy in a leather jacket, and the last was a spiky haired guy in a cheap purple suit. The sly guy smiled and started to walk toward us with his gang following behind.

"Hey, you two. Going somewhere this evening?"

I looked at him from the corner of my eye and didn't respond, I pushed Yumi a little forward trying to get her to move faster. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow, apparently not getting my hint. In retrospect, I really wished she did.

The sly guy chuckled, "Hey look, boys. They're not paying us any attention. Guess we have to teach them some respect." The big guy cracked his knuckles, the spiky haired guy dashed over to us.

I shouted, "Yumi, go!"

I pushed her forward and she ran away as I turned to face them. The sly guy stood back as his friends did all the work. The spiky haired guy ran after Yumi and the big guy came after me. I entered my pencak silat stance and threw a high kick. It hit him in the face, but he was unfazed by my attack. My eyes burst wide open and I gulped in fear, he hit me square in the chest with his fist. Flying back several feet, I smashed into a nearby parked car leaving a huge dent in the driver-side door. My eyes flickered as I drifted between conscious and unconscious. I was about to fall asleep until I heard it, the screams of Yumi struggling. My eyes wide open looked at the spiky haired guy walking to his friend with her in his arms as she struggled against her captor.

"Hey, fellas. I brought back this sweet prize." He said before sticking his hand down her pants causing her to yelp in shock and horror.

The anger coursing through me gave me the strength to stand. I growled at them through tightly clenched teeth. I rushed over to the sly guy and punched him across the face, I did it again, and again. The fourth strike he grabbed my forearm and punched me where I was punched seconds ago, the pain of the first blow was renewed causing me to fall on one knee.

Still having my forearm in his hand, he bent over to look at my face, "Well, well, we got ourselves a fighter here. Tiny, hold the girl. Jimmy and I are going to have some fun with this one."

Yumi was tossed into the hands of the big guy. She tried to struggle and fight back, but he was too strong. He made her face the scene that was about to happen. Jimmy held me in place as the sly guy cracked his knuckles and smiled evilly. He punched me against the face, time and again. He didn't stop until my nose broke. Cracking his knuckles one again, he started pummeling me square in the chest. I clenched my teeth to prevent any screams that might escape me. All the while, Yumi struggled as if her life depended on it and it did.

"No! No! Let him go! Somebody! Help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Tiny smiled, "No one is coming, girl. So, sit back and enjoy the ride."

"Ulrich! Ulrich!" She screamed before breaking down into tears.

I wish I had my saber now more than anything, but sadly this wasn't Lyoko. My chest felt sore as his thirtieth punch hit me. He spent some time kneeing me in the stomach, but not too long, afraid that I might throw up on his suit. Once the second wave of blows came to my chest, I could barely breath. My lungs felt like they were on fire. He stopped only when I collapsed to my knees. They let me go, knowing my strength was gone. I fell on the broken glass that littered the street. The shards cut my back in several places and I screamed in pain. I couldn't do anything, my entire body was unable to move. I was completely helpless to protect Yumi. Please Yumi, forgive me.

"Now, it is your turn to watch, boy." The sly guy said before that malevolent smile graced his face once again.

He and Jimmy walked over to Yumi. The sly guy rubbed his chin, "Hmm…She's got a cute face."

He lifted her chin up to get a better look at her. She grimaced and tried to bite his fingers, but he pulled them back just in time.

"Whoa, she's a feisty one. Let's take the fight out of her, boys."

They chuckled with a sadistic tone. He grabbed her collar and pulled it down hard. The front of her shirt was ripped in two. She cursed herself for not wearing a bra today as she did her best to cover herself, but Tiny refused to lower her arms.

"Her breasts are small, but cute. Go ahead, Jimmy. Have a feel."

He began to rub her breast as she held herself back, trying not to moan. I laid there helpless to do anything as they took advantage of Yumi. I snarled as the sly guy undid her pants and slid them down along with her panties. She crossed her legs feeling embarrassed.

The sly guy cackled, "Don't be shy, we'll take good care of you. Tiny, bring her down." Keeping his grip tight, he went around to Yumi's front using his weight to force her on all fours, but she resisted as hard as she could.

Jimmy laughed, "Come on, Tiny. Is that all you got? Teach this little bitch."

Tiny grunted. He held both of her hands in one of his. The free hand he drew back and threw it forward into her stomach. The wind was knocked out of her. The sudden impact caused her legs to tremble and she collapsed on her knees.

Jimmy slapped his friend on the back, "There. Was that hard?"

The sly guy spoke up, "Usual positions, people."

I tried as hard as could to stand, but all I could do was shake back and forth. I cried uncontrollably as horror swept over my being as Jimmy slid under Yumi and the sly guy went behind her. Tiny's foreskin pressed up against her tightly shut lips. She shook her head mumbling, "No!"

He pressed harder getting passed her lips and teeth, she was sucking on his entire shaft as he thrusted harder and harder. I shouted out her name, but they didn't stop. No one cared. Jimmy was pounding her constantly as he used his tongue to play with her breasts. The sly guy thrusted her toward him repeatedly as his shaft dug deeper into her. We were both panicking, Yumi was being raped right before my eyes and I couldn't do a single thing to stop it. Damn it and Damn Them. After a few minutes, Tiny came and his semen poured into her mouth. After removing his shaft, she gasped for air. But not for long as he raised her chin, forcing her to swallow. He let her go to hear her moan with every thrust she was forced to take.

"I'm done, are you guys finished yet?"

The sly guy smiled, "No, we are just getting started."

Our tears flowed without end, our minds on the verge of shattering. When our eyes met, she burst into tears whimpering pathetically for she remembered I was watching the entire thing. Seeing her face contorted with despair, I couldn't take it anymore. I never prayed before, not when I was failing a class, not when I was being ridiculed by my father, and not when I was outnumbered on Lyoko without my saber. I closed my eyes and prayed for anything, I would give anything for Yumi, please someone save her. Save Yumi.

My prayer was answered as the flashing lights of a police car were seen in the distance. The three saw this as well and had an argument amongst themselves.

"Guys, hurry up. The cops are here."

"We are not done, Tiny."

The sly guy grew angry and slid his member out of Yumi, "Jimmy, we've got to go."

Jimmy glared at his friend, who glared back, "Damn it!"

He pulled his out as well and Yumi collapsed on the street, still breathing though shallow and rapid.

"We've got to kill them!" Tiny shouted.

The sly guy saw the police cruiser getting closer, "We have no time. Run!"

The three ran into the night and vanished in the complete darkness. A few seconds passed before the headlights of the police car shone on the scene. When they saw the crawling Asian girl in the middle of the street, they slammed on the brakes. Yumi screamed and closed her eyes preparing for the worst, but the cops stopped several feet from us. After her eyes opened again, she continued to crawl toward me while whimpering my name. One officer ran out of the car as the other called an ambulance.

He inspected Yumi, "We've got a teenage oriental girl raped with bruising across the face and chest."

He ran over to me, "We've also got a teenage Caucasian male with heavy bruising across the face and torso."

His partner shouted from the car, "Ambulance is on its way."

I coughed up some blood that trickled down my cheek, "Yumi…is she all right? I can't see…"

He turned to her. She was whimpering my name as she came close to crawling across the broken glass. The police officer stopped her before she could cut herself, but she refused to stop calling my name as she rested her head on the asphalt. All we could do now was wait for the ambulance to arrive. After a few tense minutes, the flashing lights and blaring alarm of the ambulance pulled into view.

* * *

This brings us back to the present. I stared at my broken love as she lay unconscious on the gurney and broke down crying. I kept apologizing for it was my idea that we go to the concert if we didn't, then she still would be…still would be… Before I could finish my thought. her head turned on its side facing me. Her ECG began to beep faster as I looked up at the monitor, she was flat-lining. I broke out into more tears as I reached for her hand and squeezed it.

"Yumi…don't go. Please…I need you. Hang on, we must be…close to the…hospital by now. So please, hang on…for me, Yumi."

She was still flat-lining, I cried and squeezed her hand harder, "Yumi! Please, I need you so much! You are the light of my life! I don't want to live a life without you in it! Yumi, come back to me!"

As if she heard me, she started to breath. I looked at her monitor again to see her vital signs were weak, but consistent. She was going to live, but nothing was certain yet. We still had a long road to go before we could move on from this tragedy.

We were rushed into the emergency room when we arrived at the hospital. The doctors began to help us in whatever way they could. I didn't care what happened to me, I only cared about Yumi. I looked passed the doctors to look into the operating room where Yumi was. I couldn't see her and it was killing me. What was going on in there? Will she be safe? Will I see her again? These were the questions that plagued my mind and I received no answers. It was nearly dawn when they were finished with me. I was placed carefully on a gurney and wheeled out of the operating room. When I was in the hall, I looked toward Yumi again. I struggled to rise from the gurney, but the doctors were preventing me from seeing her. I wanted to see her for…this maybe the last chance I ever get to. I fought and struggled, but still too weak to fight them off. They strapped the restraints around my wrists and ankles until we reached the observation wing. I struggled against them like I did the doctors, but I couldn't get free. All I could do was look toward her room that was almost out of sight. I shouted her name as loud as I could. I don't know if she heard me, but I hope she did.

They carefully placed me on one of the four beds in observation room twelve. Though they removed my restraints, they told me that a security guard would be outside the door and not to cause trouble. It looked like it was going to be a rough couple of days before they could release me. Even though I was feeling better physically, my mind could only think about Yumi and the fact that she might be dead. Hour after hour, I cried like I did in the ambulance because Yumi still wasn't out of the emergency room. This only caused my already troubled mind to become more burdened with grief. In fact, I haven't stopped crying since she was being raped. I rocked back and forth as I softly called out her name, every second I thought of her. Just when the clock turned to three PM, the doors swung open and a gurney was wheeled in.

I looked up from my depression to see Yumi laying on the gurney, she was placed in the bed next to mine. I tried to ask about her condition, but they drew the curtain shut. When they were finished hooking her up to the machines, they left us alone in the room. I could only see her silhouette, but that wasn't enough for me. I had to see her. Stretching my hand out to the curtain, I strained as my hand came closer and closer. I fell over the bed, but I didn't care if my wounds hurt, I only cared about seeing her.

I pulled back the curtain, it was a horrible sight to behold. Yumi was hooked up to more than IVs and a catheter, she was hooked up to a respirator. Still unconscious, she was breathing on life support now. If I wasn't crying at the moment, I would cry now. I pulled myself back up to my bed and waited for her to be conscious for there was nothing else I could do to help her.

When we were admitted to the hospital, they used our medical records and called everyone who were on the Emergency Contacts List. On my last medical checkup, I was fortunate to change my emergency contacts from my parents to Odd. Now that everyone was called, they came to visit including her parents. During their visits, I pretended to be invisible knowing that her father would blame me whether he would say I failed to protect his little girl or accuse me of being the rapist. Their visits were short for they needed to get back to their busy lives and they couldn't talk to their daughter, only to stroke her hair and cry on her shoulder. Our friends visited for three hours at a time after classes were done for the day. Aelita would brush Yumi's hair as well and Jeremy stayed by her side. Odd spent most of his time with me joking around. I was happy to see them, but it wouldn't bring Yumi out of her coma. I sighed praying once more, this time for Yumi to wake up, but when I looked over to her, my prayer went unanswered.

Four days had passed since Yumi and I were rushed into the emergency room, they released me from their care saying I was all better now, boy if they only knew how wrong they were. When I left the hospital, an officer approached me. He told me that he was one of the officers investigating my case. Since he couldn't see me in the hospital due to various reasons ranging from emotional stress to not being a family member, he thought it was best to wait for my release and get my testimony on audiotape. I was more than happy to have my testimony recorded. This was the only way to get back at the bastards who did this to Yumi. It was easy for their faces were burnt into my memory and so I began to describe them. When I was finished, he thanked me for my time and cooperation with the investigation. We went our separate ways and mine led me back to Kadic.

Returning to school, I tried to resume my life. Everyday, I attended class and every night, I was at Yumi's side. I even slept by her bed a couple nights before hurrying back to Kadic. I tried to focus on my grades hoping to keep me distracted, but it didn't help as my mind kept drifting back to Yumi. This become the usual routine for two weeks until I received a call from the hospital and ran over to find out the news.

I followed the same serpentine path I took through the hospital to reach observation room twelve. I continued running as fast as my legs would let me until I came to a breaking halt in front of the door. Taking a deep breath, I gripped the doorknob. I opened the door ready for the worst or the best. I walked in to see Yumi sitting up from the bed, the respirator free from her mouth. She smiled when she noticed me walk pass the curtain.

"Yumi? Are you all right?" I cried with tears of joy.

"Yes, Ulrich. I'm fine."

I slowly walked up to her extending my hand at the pace of a turtle walking. During my time at school, I did some research on rape victims and they are afraid of being touched after undergoing such an ordeal, so I took it slow. I walked one step at a time and touched her skin with my fingertip. She jerked back slightly and I pulled my hand away. However she knew me and knew I would never hurt her. She slowly grabbed my hand and brought it closer to her. She started rubbing her cheek on it. A smile appeared on her face. I continued to walk closer without getting any objections from her. I brought my other arm around her, only pausing when she started to react. After bringing both my arms around was I allowed to hug her. She rested her head on my shoulder and started to cry.

She whispered, "Ulrich…"

I whispered back, "It is not your fault, Yumi."

"I was so scared."

I brushed her hair, "Shhhh…It's okay. It will all be okay."

I heard my cell phone ring, I excused myself and left the room for a moment. I looked back to see her wiping away her tears. With a heavy heart, I clicked the call button, "Hello?"

"Excuse me, are you Ulrich Stern from case 3581104?"

"Yes."

"I am Officer Tim Harrington. I inspected you at the scene."

"Oh yes, may I ask why you are calling?"

"We thought you wanted to know that we apprehended the three perpetrators several days ago and they were convicted this afternoon. Thanks to your recorded testimony, they will be put away for life."

"Thank you, Officer. I will tell Yumi."

He sighed in relief, "So, she made it? I am glad, we all were worried about her."

"Some of us more than others. Goodbye, Officer."

"Goodbye."

Walking back in the room, I peered around the curtain to see her crying in both hands. When I walked around, she started to wipe away the tears and forced a smile.

"Don't hold back, Yumi. Let it all out."

She cried as she gestured me to come closer. I did what she wanted, there was nothing I won't do for her. When we were only inches away, she reached out and hugged me as hard as she could. Her tears dried on my shoulder, she kept apologizing, but I told her not to. I felt as helpless as when I was laying nearly dead on the street. But at least, I could stroke her back and whisper to her that everything would be all right. I didn't care how long she cried, she needed to let everything come out and I was there to keep her company, to keep her safe. When the tears stopped, I told her the good news I received from Officer Harrington.

She wiped her tears, "Thanks, Ulrich. But it is too late, they already violated me and nothing can ever take that away."

She looked away from me as if she was ashamed of herself. I knew this look well for I've seen it many times from my parents. If I didn't do something, she would assume I want to break up with her. I took a deep breath and prayed silently for the words and courage to speak.

I held her head gently in both hands and looked straight into her eyes, "You're right, nothing can ever take that away, but I love you. We are together and I believe we will get through this for our love is strong. I will be there for you and I will help you in whatever way I can. No matter what, I will always be by your side. I…I..."

I stopped when she lurched forward and kissed me. Tears were flowing, but they were tears of joy. When she pulled away, she smiled with her cheeks a deep shade of red and it was a real smile this time.

"I know, Ulrich. I love you as well. When I saw you laying on the street, I thought…I thought…"

She started to break down again, I offered my shoulder once again and she cried into it. I hugged her wanting not to let go. It was not yet over. Though we have overcome many hurtles, there was still a ways to go before we could put this all behind us. I am not a doctor, but I knew this is the first step for the true healing to begin…

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**Thanks for reading, hope you all liked it. I will start to write the sequel soon and hope to get it on the site in a couple days. A week or two at the most, bit I make no promises because, as I mentioned in my other stories, I am in college and have only a little time on my hands.  
**


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